There were some interesting stroylines from Sunday in the world of fantasy football...

DYNAMIC DUO
Kurt Warner is getting all kinds of hype as a MVP canidate, and rightfully so, but it doesn't hurt that he throws it to two of the best receivers in football. Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald domintated the Seahawks on Sunday. The two combined for 23 catches on 30 targets and amassed 323 receiving yards. Both wideouts have made a home inside the top in our weekly rankings at receiver and that isn't going to change anytime soon.

WILLIE'S BACK
Steelers' running back Willie Parker played for the just the second time in six games and didn't appear to be limited by the shoulder harness he must finish the season wearing. Parker carried the ball 25 times for 115 yards and added a 4-yard reception. He ran well and even had a nice TD run, but it was called back due to penalty. With the Bengals on the slate in Week 12 Parker appears poised to be a stellar RB2 option moving forward.

ADDAI GOES OFF
Joseph Addai rewarded patient owners with a monster effort on Sunday vs. the Texans. The Colts' running back finished with 22 carries for 105 yards and a RuTD while catching 7 balls for 44 yards and a ReTD. The Colts' offense is coming on and Addai appears to be 100%. That couldn't be better news for owners that getting into the grind of a playoff stretch. The Texans' D has struggled lately, but the Browns, Bengals, and Lions still loom.

THE FALL OF DANIELS
Nobody has seen their fantasy vaule affected harded by the absence of Matt Schaub than Texans' tight end Owen Daniles. Prior to losing his quarterabck Daniels was on a tear and producing as good as any tight end in the league. In two games since Daniels has been a dud, catching just 2 balls for 27 yards and 0 TD's. Schaub is likely to miss at least two more games so you may want to look for other options until then.

DELHOMME A DUD
For the past two weeks I have endorsed Panthers' quarterback Jake Delhomme as viable starting fantasy option. However, following his second straight dismal display, this time against the Lions, I have lost faith in the Ragin' Cajun.  He managed to complete just 10 of 19 passes for 98 yards and 1 TD against the Lions. That was on the heels of a disaster in Oakland. Keep in mind both of the opponents gave up huge rushing yardage, but with bye weeks over Delhomme should find a spot on your bench.

The Bucs won their game on Sunday, but they likely lost starting running back Earnest Graham for the season.

Graham sustained an ankle injury against Minnesota on Sunday when a defender fell on his ankle. Gruden said he does not expect Graham to play again this season.

“Earnest Graham’s ankle looks to be a serious injury and his status for the rest of the season is very much in question,” Gruden told the Tampa Tribune. “Geno Hayes [linebacker] hurt his knee and we’re obviously real concerned about that as well. Both of those guy’s season could be in jeopardy right now.”

Tampa Bay will be forced to play with Warrick Dunn, Cadillac Williams and Clifton Smith, plus Gruden said there is a possibility FB B.J. Askew will receive work at running back. 

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FANTASY TAKE: Dunn is likely the man to have here. The veteran rushed 20 times for 53 yards and caught four passes for 65 yards in Week 11's win and is quietly on pace for 1,000 yards. Cadillac Williams may take some carries eventually, but until further notice Dunn appears to be a legitimate RB2 option. Matchups ahead with the Lions and Saints should spell success!

from NowPublic.com 

The ending of Sunday's Pittsburgh Steelers-San Diego Chargers game ended with a controversial call that reversed a Steelers touchdown. The negated touchdown didn't affect who won the outcome since the Steelers still won by a score of 11-10. But it did affect the point spread and essentially cost those who bet on the Steelers a total of $32 million.

In the dying seconds of the game, Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu intercepted a Chargers pass and ran it in for a touchdown, making the score 17-10. The referees, however, called a penalty on the play and took the touchdown off the scoreboard. Afterwards, officials admitted that they made a mistake at the end of the game.

What it did affect was something that the NFL rarely discusses: betting on NFL games. The Steelers were a five-point favorite over the Chargers. If the touchdown had been allowed to stand, the Steelers would have covered the point spread and anyone who bet on the Steelers would have won. Instead, the Steelers failed to cover the spread, so those who bet on the Steelers lost.

Since most bettors put their money on the Steelers to win, sports bookies ended up saving about $32 million that they would have had to pay out if Polamalu's touchdown was allowed.

--An estimated 100 million dollars was wagered worldwide on the Pittsburgh/San Diego game, according to RJ Bell of Pregame.com. Approximately 66% of that money was on the Steelers; with only 34% on the Chargers.

"If the touchdown was properly upheld, Steelers bettors would have won about 32 million dollars instead of losing big. This admittedly incorrect call resulted in a 64 million dollar swing in favor of the bookies," said RJ Bell of Pregame.com.

While millions of dollars were at stake, the issue was not brought up during the broadcast of the game nor in any post-game analysis, largely because of an unwritten rule that sports broadcasts avoid any mention of gambling.

During the game on CBS with Jim Nantz and Phil Simms, Nantz only alluded to the interest that the final play would draw for some. He certainly never mentioned the 4.5 point spread (with the home-standing Steelers as favorites) as the confusing ending was made even clunkier by the unspoken intrigue caused by the millions of dollars that were at stake for gamblers across America.

Although many gamblers were upset with the final score, it did make history. The Steelers-Chargers score marked the first time in history that an NFL game ended in a score of 11-10.

Albert Pujols claimed 18 of the 32 first placed votes and was named the National League's Most Valuable Player on Monday.  The Cardinals' first baseman had a year worthy of recogintion - .357 BA, .462 OBP, .653 SLG, 37 HR, 116 RBI, and 100 runs scored in 148 games. Still, can the player be that valuable when their team doesn't even make the playoffs? In fact, the Cardinals finished in fourth place in their own division. 

Pujos was still the RIGHT choice and the MVP to be named that did not make the playoffs since Andre Dawson did so as a Cub in 1987.

Ryan Howard finished second with 12 first-place votes, but when you consider that Pujols is a better fielder and runner and get down the core statistics it's not even close...

            AVG    OBP    SLG
Pujols     .357   .462   .653
Howard     .251   .339   .543     

Where Pujols' ranked:

• 1st in NL in SLG (.653)
• 1st in NL in OPS (1.114)
• 2nd in NL in AVG (.357)
• 2nd in NL in OBP (.462)
• 2nd in NL in BB (104)
• 4th in NL in RBI (116)
• 4th in NL in HR (37)

Where Howard ranked:

• 1st in NL in HR (48)
• 1st in NL in RBI (146)
• 6th in NL in SLG (.543)
• 9th in NL in R (105)

--Pujols was clearly a better all-around player. Howard was huge in leading his team to the playoffs, but where was he at in April and May?

The New York Yankees have decided they want C.C. Sabathia and made a ridiculous silly bid to try to get them. Even if Sabathia wanted to take less money to stay in Milwaukee, the Players' Union is going to put pressure on him to not leave the money on the table. The Yankees have offered the big lefty $140 million over 6 years. Let's take a look at how those dollars and cents breakdown:

$140 million over 6 years
--$23.3 million per year

Has averaged 32 games per over last three seasons that equals...
--$718,750 per start
--125 pitches per start (rough estimate)
--$5750 per pitch

I am huge C.C. fan, but this money is unbelievable.

Here are some injruies from Sunday to keep your eyes on: 

RUNNING BACKS
Brandon Jacobs, New York Giants - knee - MRI coming Monday
Ladell Betts, Washington Redskins - knee - aggrevated existing injury
Earnest Graham, Tampa Bay Buccaneers - leg -

WIDE RECEIVERS
Antwaan Randle El, Washington Redskins - ankle, foot - Did not return
Antonio Chatman, Cincinnati Bengals - neck - Preliminary tests normal

TIGHT ENDS
Mark Campbell, New Orleans Saints - knee -

OFFENSIVE LINEMEN
Orlando Pace, St. Louis Rams - knee - Could miss siginificant time
Andrew Whitworth, Cincinnati Bengals - ankle - Status unknown

DEFENSIVE BACKS
Aaron Ross, New York Giants - calf - Status unknown
Chinedum Ndukwe, Cincinnati Bengals - undisclosed - Status unknown
Marcus Trufant, Seattle Seahawks - concussion - Status unknown

Donovan McNabb sounded more like DUH-onovan McNabb when he didn't know that regular season NFL games ended in a tie after one overtime.  He commented what would the NFL do if a playoff game or Super Bowl ended in a time after the first OT.  Someone needs to inform the genius that in the playoffs and Super Bowl the teams play until someone scores first.

Hey Donovan, here are some more rules that you might not know.  A receiver has to have two feet in bounds, not one for the catch to count.  When you fall down and no-one touches you, you can get up and run.  A kickoff is a live ball and if the receiving team doesn't pick it up and the other team does it belongs to them.  

It seems pretty clear to me that Vegas called the NFL and said "That TD better not count" at the end of the Steelers game and thus a $63 million swing back to the bookies and away from the betters happened.  Don't tell me something fishy isn't going on there.